The Australian understands the season’s resumption will begin with the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday, May 28, before Latrell Mitchell and South Sydney face off against their bitter rivals Sydney Roosters on Friday night.
V’landys remains confident the broadcast talks will be brought to a conclusion in coming days, if not on Friday. The likelihood remains that the game will do a
long-term deal with Foxtel which will tie the parties together until the end of 2027.
Talks with the Nine Network have focused around the next three seasons as they restructure their existing deal, which runs until the end of 2022.
Negotiations over an extension of that deal are likely to be put on hold for the time being, leaving the door ajar for the Ten or Seven networks to make a play for rugby league in coming months.
Talk of expansion has also been put on hold for the time being, the hopes of a second Brisbane team suffering a setback given deals with the Nine Network and Foxtel until the end of 2022 have been renegotiated and discounted.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has already told clubs that revenue could be down by as much as $250 million this season, a large chunk of that likely to come in the form of discounts given to the Nine Network and Foxtel. A 30 per cent reduction in their respective deals for this season would equate to roughly $100m across the two broadcasters — Nine and Foxtel had argued that the game was damaged due to the reduction in games, absence of crowds and subsequent lack of atmosphere.
It is understood Bankwest Stadium and Kogarah Oval are among the venues likely to host games in Sydney, the grounds presenting better on television in the absence of crowds when compared to the cavernous ANZ Stadium.
Suncorp Stadium will be one of the venues in Queensland, along with the Cowboys’ home in Townsville.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...r/news-story/f264ae03e6381e519060ef5436364afa
